Chapter five hundred and fifty seventh on the road
Luoming River, on the waterway from Beiping to Hedong.
Three medium-sized passenger ships were going up the river. There were no sails on the ships, they were just walking leisurely.
There were several stern men standing on both sides of the ship, all of them strong men. Even in winter, their clothes were thin. There were two people at the stern of the ship slowly steering the helm.
It was the end of the cold weather, and the people stayed at home for the winter if they could not go out. There were far fewer boats on the river than in spring, summer, and autumn.
But having said that, the Chinese New Year is also one of the peak seasons for merchants. There are fewer passenger ships sailing on the Luoming River, but merchant ships are still uninterrupted.
Maybe it's because it's the New Year, but most of the boats on the river are very lively, with endless laughter. Only the situation on these three boats is different. Although they look the same on the outside, the boatmen and helmsmen on both sides are very busy.
They all had solemn faces and solemn expressions, and the whole boat was silent.
A thick brocade curtain was hung at the door of the cabin. Although it was embroidered with blue silk patterns, it still looked clean and elegant. Two red lanterns with the word "blessing" written on it were hung on the boat to let outsiders know the last name of the captain. One was old and the other was young.
Two richly dressed mother and daughter stood side by side on the bow of the boat, looking at the scenery on the river, leisurely, and from time to time they pointed at the scenery outside and talked for a while.
But it was Mrs. Zhu Liu, mother and daughter Zhu Cai'er.
After watching for a while, the mother and daughter opened the curtain and walked into the cabin. The cabin inside the curtain was also unique. The tables and chairs were exquisite and unique. They didn't move at all as the ship rippled, because the table and chair legs were all beautiful.
Fixed on the ship's deck.
A cabinet full of books divided the cabin into two rooms, inside and outside. The two of them sat down in the outer room, but they invariably immediately pricked up their ears to listen to what was going on next door. It is human nature to gossip and listen to the wall.
No one is immune to vulgarity.
However, after a while, both of them sighed and retracted their attention, "Oh, when will your sister-in-law give birth to a fat grandson for me?"
Zhu Liu only has two wishes at the moment, to find a good home for her daughter and to hold her precious grandson in her arms. But she also knows very well why Zhu Biao never had a child before.
At that time, the Zhu family was too weak, Zhu Biao was too weak, and the enemy was very strong.
Now, everything has changed. No one dares to provoke his son in the Northern Han Dynasty anymore. Even the royal family provides for his son well. It seems that his precious grandson will soon have hope.
Zhu Cai'er pursed her lips and smiled, "It's not easy for you to have a grandson. My brother and sister-in-law are both in good health. It was forced by circumstances that I didn't get pregnant before. I didn't dare to have children easily. Now everything has been solved.
Just wait until next year for your grandson!"
"But Mom still wants to have a grandson. You are not young anymore. It's time to think about marriage."
"Uh~~" Zhu Cai'er didn't expect that her mother's words would change and turn directly on her. "My daughter really wants to marry, but there's no one..." She pulled her mother's arm and acted coquettishly.
Zhu Biao was sitting in the cabin next to Shan Yuping with his arms around him. There was nothing interesting to see in the silvery snow scenery on the two banks outside, so he stayed in the cabin all the time. Shan Yuping happened to be the most afraid of the cold, and even now her internal strength
He is no less than a top-level expert, his ability to withstand the cold has improved by a small margin, and he doesn’t like going out in the cold in the middle of winter.
Wearing a lavender satin coat, the furry white fox fur collar is fastened with a bright pearl plate the size of a thumb. The white velvet fur collar makes the beauty's face as white as jade, and her complexion is even more crystal clear. She is not used to sitting cross-legged, half leaning
In Zhu Biao's arms, he propped up his cheek and looked at the scenery on the river through the window.
Her face was still faintly flushed. Although she and Zhu Biao were an old couple, she could not suppress the shyness in her heart when she got tired of being intimate.
Zhu Biao was wearing an unattractive slate blue robe, just ordinary fine cotton fabric. But the workmanship was fine, the stitching, and the gaps, it was obvious that it was made by everyone.
Not a bit loose, not a bit narrow, everything fits perfectly.
It seems that after getting married, they get together less and stay apart more, especially at the turn of spring and summer and after the war in Zhongshan Kingdom started, they have been separated for more than half a year. Lying in Zhu Biao's arms, although Shan Yuping was a little shy, her heart felt rippled with comfort.
The warmth enveloped her whole body, making her reluctant to get up.
Anzhou, the junction of Hezhou and Pipatan.
On a winter afternoon, the sky was gloomy, as if it was snowing again. Meng Dexin, the owner of Meng's old store, sat behind the counter and looked boredly at the few people walking on the street.
When business was not going well, he no longer had the heart to even use the abacus to settle accounts.
The waiter Xu Qi came in from the door, rubbing his face and ears that were flushed by the river wind, and said to the boss Meng Dexin: "Shopkeeper, everyone on the dock has dispersed, and there is no trace of the boat. It will be dark today.
, I’m afraid there won’t be any guests coming again.”
The people walking on the street outside the door are all people from this town, and they will not come to stay as guests.
Pipatan (town) is close to the Luoming River and is at the junction of Anzhou, Hezhou and even Luozhou. It is an important transportation post. The business of opening inns in the town is a major pillar. The bosses want to attract business for their own stores.
, sending waiters to wait at the pier every day, and whenever there are guests coming from afar, they will be led to stay in the store first, and the Meng family's old store is no exception.
Meng Dexin had a smile on his fat face and said to Xu Qi: "Go and warm yourself by the brazier. Forget it today." In summer, waiters only return to the store when it gets dark. In winter,
, some bosses with evil intentions or bad business also boss people around like this, but Meng Dexin doesn't care about it here.
He believes in Buddhism.
Besides, this season is the off-season for the store's business every year, and overall this year is pretty good. Ever since the Great Zhou Tianbing entered Chen State and started fighting with Hu Di, the situation in Hezhou has become much more stable and peaceful. In the store
Income has improved a lot compared to previous years.
And because the Hu people are less powerful this year, the war requirements are much less, especially here in Hezhou. The imperial court also took the opportunity to turn the grain and grass supplies official into private commercial transportation, trying its best to reduce expenses. This transport of military grain and supplies was carried out on land and water.
Most of Hezhou's fleets and convoys pass through Pipa Beach. Although these private caravans are much easier to serve than those poor officers and military officers, overall speaking, Meng Dexin still made a lot of money this year.
Naturally, there is no need to treat his subordinates harshly. Moreover, Xu Qi is also his neighbor in the alley. Although he is not close, he still has a kindred spirit.
When Xu Qi walked over to the brazier and sat down, several guys who were surrounding the brazier to warm themselves up quickly made room for him.
Meng Dexin also lit a brazier at the counter, and the red charcoal fire was warming him up, but when he thought about the backyard, he still sighed slightly: "There are still two rooms in the courtyard that are unoccupied." And there are only ordinary guest rooms left.
There are more.
The guys warming up by the fire all looked at each other and smiled. The Meng family's old store is a first-class inn in the town. This year is good luck again. As the boss and shopkeeper, he has made a lot of money. Now he is still worried about the house being empty.
How many rooms? Is it a good idea if people who book rooms line up at the counter all year round?
But when they saw their boss being so comfortable being heated by the charcoal fire, they narrowed their eyes. They didn't say anything, and focused on burning themselves. Why did they listen to the boss's nagging? The boss wouldn't reward them more.
But it only took a short while, and Meng Dexin was the first to open his eyes. The guys had been in this business for a long time, and they also woke up with the alarm. There was a sound of horse hooves in the street, and it didn't sound like just one or two people.
.
Without the boss's instructions, Xu Qi and another waiter ran out of the store. When they looked up, they saw a group of people, at least ten or more, who had just walked past the corner of the street.
The people on the horse were all strong and energetic men, but the leader was just an ordinary person. They were all dressed in Tsing Yi and neatly tied up.
Seeing two waiters standing at the door of the store to invite customers, the group stopped. A big man in Tsing Yi asked the leader angrily: "Brother Bing, this is also one of the largest inns in the town."
Xu Qi and another waiter were both used to being waiters. At a glance, they could tell that they were not masters and servants. Of course, they did not have an equal relationship with each other. Instead, they looked like servants of a wealthy family.
The man in Tsing Yi who spoke was older than the leader, but he shouted "brother". Xu Qi and the other guy looked at each other, come on, no matter what their identities are, let's get rid of them first.
The first thing to do is to welcome people in. This group of people can occupy half of a courtyard.
Immediately, Xu Qi came up to us with a smile on his face: "Masters, please dismount. The shop has a hot water brazier, old wine, chickens, ducks, pigs and sheep are all ready."
Dou Bing looked at Xu Qi and Xu Qi carefully with his sharp eyes. Their smiles froze when he saw them, and they felt uncomfortable. Then he smiled and asked harmoniously: "Do you have a separate cross-courtyard in your store? We want it to be complete."
A yard.”
As soon as these words were said, not only Xu Qi and the two waiters were itching with joy, but also the boss Meng Dexin who was following behind also laughed heartily and hurriedly came up to him, with a smile on his face and a promise in his mouth: "Yes,
Yes, yes, of course there is. They are very clean and comfortable courtyards. The gentlemen drove all the way in the cold weather. They first got off their horses and warmed up a pot of wine to relieve their fatigue. It was the contribution of the small shop, and then we looked at the courtyard.
"
Dou Bing followed Zhu Biao. He liked people who knew what was going to happen the most. Seeing Meng Dexin behave like this, he jumped off his horse and said with a smile: "Go to the yard first, and then we can have a good meal and drink after we have settled down."
Chi." The group of people behind him also jumped off the horse. Meng Dexin saw that their skills were all equally clean and neat, and he felt even more respected in his heart.
He didn't know his identity, but the money in front of him was the most important thing, so he hurriedly ordered a few guys to come forward to pick up the horse. He personally picked up Dou Bing and his entourage and walked in. He smiled as he walked: "This way the yard.
Please come with me." (To be continued. Please search Piaotian Literature, the novels will be better and updated faster!)
